Monday, January 2, 2012

Disproportionate spending on ME/CFS

A repost from http://aboutmecfs.org.violet.arvixe.com/Adv/WhatYouCanDo.aspx

If you think that because you're sick the federal government gives a hoot think again. Most diseases do have a slew of federally funded researchers working away at their problem but not chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The amount of funding this disease receives from the federal government is simply atrocious. Consider the following;

Chronic fatigue syndrome has high economic costs (@20 billion/year), is relatively common (1,000,000 + effected in the US), has low diagnosis (20%) and high disability rates, and is a chronic and often lifelong condition….but has been almost completely ignored by the federal government.Chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) affects more people (@1-4,000,000) than breast cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis combined (@570,000) yet receives yet less than 1/10th of one percent of the funding ($4,000,000) that those diseases do ($3,900,000,000) (NIH).

Weighing in at about 206th of the 214 diseases, disorders and conditions funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is at the very bottom of the governments funding priorities .Chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) causes higher economic costs than asthma yet receives about 60 times less funding (@$4,000,000 vs @$250,000,000).

Several diseases that affect fewer than 50,000 people receive considerably more research funding than chronic fatigue syndrome does.